Queen Elizabeth marks 200th Trafalgar anniversary

The World - In Brief

October 22, 2005

PORTSMOUTH, England -- With the sun setting over this faded port city, Queen Elizabeth II lit a beacon Friday to mark the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar, in which Britain's Royal Navy defeated the French and Spanish fleets and cemented its naval supremacy for the next century. Bells tolled aboard British vessels around the world, and wreaths were laid at the site of the decisive battle just off Cape Trafalgar in Spain. In Cadiz, descendants of sailors who fought in the battle joined military leaders to pay homage to the 7,000 killed in the fighting.